Groups plan greenway, boat ramps along French Broad

Wednesday

Jan 23, 2013 at 3:00 AM

From the parking lot at Westfeldt Park, a rough dirt trail heads north along the French Broad River, snaking along flood-gouged banks for a short distance before dead-ending in a thicket of laurel and rhododendron.

By Nathaniel AxtellTimes-News Staff Writer

FLETCHER — From the parking lot at Westfeldt Park, a rough dirt trail heads north along the French Broad River, snaking along flood-gouged banks for a short distance before dead-ending in a thicket of laurel and rhododendron.It doesn’t look like much now, but if a group formed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and numerous partner organizations realizes its long-term vision, eventually the trail could become part of a larger greenway linking the park to the brewery and beyond.Greenways are linear strips of open space that typically follow a natural corridor such as a river, ridge or abandoned rail line, linking parks or other natural areas by trails suitable for biking, jogging, hiking and strollers. Along rivers, they’re often built in floodways unsuited for other development.The county already boasts two stretches of greenway: 1.89 miles of the Oklawaha Greenway running from Jackson Park to Patton Park (with a third phase planned to connect with Berkeley Mills Park on Balfour Road); and the popular 1-mile Cane Creek Greenway in Fletcher.Though a French Broad greenway linking 15-acre Westfeldt Park and parts north is still in the planning stages, Sierra Nevada, local nonprofit groups and governmental agencies have been exploring ways to advance greenways and create better river access in Henderson County since the summer of 2012.“The interest in and work toward greenway planning and river access is still in its infancy, but we’re excited about the prospect of those recreational attractions,” Sierra Nevada spokesman Ryan Arnold said in an email Wednesday. Besides brewery representatives, partners in the working group have included the N.C. Department of Transportation, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, the Environmental and Conservation Organization, RiverLink, the Western North Carolina Alliance, and Henderson County Parks and Recreation.In cooperation with the Wildlife Resources Commission, members of the working group have identified at least two potential boat access points along the French Broad in Henderson County, according to French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson, a group participant.“For whatever reason, every county along the river is stacked with river accesses except for Henderson County,” Carson said, who pointed out the county has just two official boat put-ins — one at river mile 34 in Blantyre and another one 18 miles later at Westfeldt Park. “People have made due, but there’s very sketchy, unsafe places people are putting in, usually at bridges with little to no parking,” Carson said. “That stretch of river could use one or two more, from a recreational standpoint and from a safety standpoint. People also need a good place to put in and paddle to the brewery.”Sierra Nevada owns roughly 175 acres bordering the French Broad north of Old Fanning Bridge Road, county tax records show, with about 1.5 miles of riverfront. The company’s website says it intends to keep most of the property “wild and intact,” but notes its plans “to develop a trail system with river access.”Two members of the informal working group, CMLC and RiverLink, have identified an opportunity for Henderson County parks to apply for a $200,000 grant from the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The grant could fund roughly .33-miles of greenway within the park, plus a loop trail back to Westfeldt’s parking lot.“Basically, it would originate in Westfeldt Park and head north along the French Broad River to the Sierra Nevada property and up into Buncombe County,” said Tim Hopkin, the county’s Parks and Recreation director, describing long-term plans for the greenway.Eventually, the greenway could connect with Glen Bridge River Park and Corcoran Paige River Park in Buncombe County, said Nancy Hodges, water resources manager with RiverLink. She said the short segment proposed for Westfeldt Park is “just the first step in getting something on the ground and then start some conversations about moving the trail northward.”The state trails grant requires a 25 percent match, but CMLC and RiverLink have found another grant, from the N.C. Division of Water Resources, that would fund that $50,000. The grant would be a “win-win” for Henderson County, said CMLC Executive Director Kieran Roe.“The way we’re setting it up with the matching grant, there wouldn’t be any cost to the county,” he said, adding the payback could be enormous: additional river access for fishermen, hikers and tourists, and even the potential for added economic development.“It’s adding points of access for both local residents and visitors to enjoy, that attracts much more use and hopefully more dollars to the economy,” Roe said. “One of the reason companies like Sierra Nevada are interested in this idea — and we have other supporters from the Fletcher area, what you’d call ‘green companies’ — there’s an interest in providing viable commuting routes for their employees.”Sierra Nevada is known for its commitment to environmental stewardship. Its “Wild Rivers” campaign, begun in 2009, has donated more than $250,000 in beer proceeds to partner groups working to preserve vital waterways such as the Klamath River in California, the Gunnison River in Colorado and the John Day River in Oregon.CMLC and RiverLink will host a public input and informational meeting on the Westfeldt Park greenway segment from 5-7 p.m. Monday at the Fletcher Library, at 120 Library Road off U.S. Highway 25. Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.